As poet Robert Burns mused centuries ago, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Despite thoughtful effort and a concerted strategy, you cannot prepare for every emergency. A car accident, sudden illness, workplace injury or chronic medical condition can force you to re-evaluate the core assumptions you used to plan your future [...]

Estate planning for couples in a second (or later) marriage can be tricky. Throw in children from a prior marriage and the plot quickly thickens. One tremendous solution which allows a spouse to maintain control of his/her assets while also appeasing the other spouse is to utilize what is known as a QTIP Trust. Basics [...]

When you pass away, your family may need to visit a probate court in order to claim their inheritance. This can happen if you own property (like a house, car, bank account, investment account, or other asset) solely in your individual name. Although having a will is a good basic form of planning, a will [...]

There may be a time where you are asked by a family member or friend to serve as the executor, which in Arizona is called a personal representative (hereafter, “PR”), of their estate. The question is, should you? While an honor to be asked, acting as PR is a time-consuming, detailed job with many obligations [...]

Is Your Estate Plan as Stale as Last Week’s Ham Sandwich? 5 Reasons to Update Your Estate Plan Estate plans are almost magical: they allow you to maintain control of your assets, yet protect you should you become incapacitated. They take care of your family and pets. And, if carefully crafted, they reduce fees, taxes, [...]

Drafting your own will or using a form that you purchased online to create a will, might seem like a good idea that will save you money. However, those wills often fail to do much more than create large legal bills in probate. Wills often sound like simple legal documents. In a sense, they are. [...]

You are going to die, so it is important to be prepared for it. However, do not be taken in by some common estate planning myths. At some point in the future, you will pass away. That is an undeniable fact. You might think that if you live long enough medical science will advance to [...]

It is important to discuss your estate plan with your family. Some people struggle over when to do that. They could consider doing so over a holiday dinner. One of the most contentious issues many people face is talking about their own deaths and their estate plans with their friends and family. These are typically [...]

There are a few things that every single estate plan needs to have regardless of the exact legal instruments that you end up using as your primary estate planning tools. Estate plans can take a variety of shapes. Some estate plans are small and simple. Other estate plans are large and contain many complex legal [...]

If you have never had to deal with a close family member passing away, then you might not know that there are important things that you need to do to make sure everything goes smoothly. Dealing with the death of a close family member can be a trying experience, especially if it is the first [...]